Tema Adah
by Orion Tiye
Summary: A young Bajoran writer moves to the station. Weirdness ensues. Was sparked by a fragment of a dream I had years ago.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Tema Adah  
Author: Orion Tiye

Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  
Pairing: Tema Adah (mine), Garak (canon) and Dukat (canon)  
Status: First Draft  
Series/Sequel: None  
Disclaimers: All belongs to Gene Roddenberry.  
Summary: Tema Adah is a young Bajoran writer who moves to the station. Weirdness ensues.

I was trying to resist the urge to hit myself in the head with the PADD I was working on, suffering from writer's block, once again. I sensed someone behind me, but I ignored the sensation. Being in the replimat had advantages and drawbacks. I could draw inspiration from the surrounding people, but there were some who, when they saw a young Bajoran woman sitting alone, would try to talk to her. This was the type of person I feared was behind me.

Finally, I turned and looked up into the blue eyes and gently smiling face of the local Cardassian tailor.

"Good afternoon," he said, walking around so he was facing me. "May I?" He asked, indicating the chair across from me. I put the PADD down and nodded, grateful for the interruption.

"How long have you been on the station? I don't believe I have seen you here before," he said, keeping eye contact and never wavering.

"I've only been here about a week. I came here from Bajor, obviously," I said, gesturing at the ridges on my nose. "I'm trying to finish a story, I thought a different setting would help, but I'm still stuck." I could tell that my frustration was seeping into my voice.

The Cardassian smiled.

"My name is Garak. Welcome to Deep Space Nine," Garak said with an expansive gesture as he sat back in the chair.

"I'm Tema Adah. Thanks for the welcome, Garak." I ran my left hand through my long black hair. I took a lock, parted it into thirds and began braiding it, lost in thought.

I realized what I was doing and brought my mind back to the present. Garak was staring at me, head slightly to the left, studying me.  
I dropped the lock of hair and he smiled.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just, you looked so deep in thought there for a moment."

I nodded and touched the PADD with my index finger. Silence reigned for a moment.

"Well," Garak said, lifting himself out of the chair. "I hope to see you around the station, Tema Adah." He inclined his head, turned and was gone.

I shook my head and turned back a few pages in my story and read the words I had memorized days before.

I drank the last of my tea, snatched up my PADD and went back to my quarters to be frustrated in a different setting.

About a week later, I was past my writer's block and having lunch with an old friend of my sister's, by the name of Kira Nerys. We were talking about how things were going between the Federation and Bajor when she stopped in mid-sentence and swore under her breath, looking over my right shoulder.

I started to turn to see what could illicit such a reaction from her when she put a hand on my arm.

"Don't turn," she whispered. "Maybe he won't notice me."

"Who?" I was genuinely curious. If only half of the stories my sister told me were true, Kira was not one to be easily agitated like this.  
She turned her dark eyes back to me and gave me an ironic half-smile.

"Dukat," she said softly, but the venom still came through.

I had, of course, heard of Gul Dukat. Mostly in either hushed or angrily raised voices. To me, the idea of a man who could engender such opposing reactions was intellectually intriguing. And, after seeing some old vids, he interested me even more, but in a much more aesthetic way. His voice was so commanding, his eyes drew one in, even when watching a copy of a copy of a vid.

I wanted to turn and see this man in person. Luckily, I didn't have to work too hard to resist the urge as a few moments later, I heard approaching footsteps from behind. Given the exasperated expression on Kira's face, I assumed it was Dukat. My writer's mind went into warp, trying to concoct a past between the two. I suspected, however, that the truth was more interesting than any fiction I could develop.

"Hello, Major," came the immediately recognizable voice of Gul Dukat. From the expression in Kira's eyes, it could have been the screams of a tortured and dying animal, not the well-modulated voice that met my ears.

I looked up at the owner of the voice. He wasn't particularly tall, but he was well-built and had a very confident, almost regal bearing about him. His eyes were as sharp as his features. They were dark, but I couldn't tell if they were truly black or a dark blue.

His eyes settled on Kira and they seemed to drink in the sight. I felt a twinge of something - jealousy? - but quickly buried it. The effort was successful until the dark eyes switched to me. The appraisal was in itself cold, but I thought I saw a glimmer of the approval I had seen when he was watching Kira.

With his eyes still trained on me, he spoke in that resolve-shattering voice to Kira.

"Why, Major, who is your friend? I don't believe I have met her before," and without further warning or hesitation, he picked up my hand and raised it to his lips. His hands were surprisingly warm and not as rough as I had expected. The contact of his lips on my hand just about sent me into orbit, however. I felt as though all thought had halted, and yet the part of my mind reserved for fantasy went crazy.  
While he made this gesture, Kira was doing the introductions through clenched teeth.

"Tema Adah, meet Gul Dukat. Dukat, this is Tema Adah, the younger sister of one of the women in my resistance cell." Kira was glaring between me and Dukat, apparently not being able to decide who deserved the most blame for this turn of events.

Dukat pulled out the third chair at our table and sat down. Kira rose almost immediately.

"I have to go," she said brusquely. "I'm on duty in a few minutes. Tema. Dukat." With curt nods to each of us, she stalked off. Dukat watched her leave, then looked back to me. I felt a thrill when we locked eyes.

"Well, Tema, what brings you to the station?"

"I'm a writer. I came here to get a new perspective." Now with the full attention of Gul Dukat, I felt like I was flying, but also felt scared out of my mind.

He smiled. There had never been a picture or a vid of him smiling. It was just as intoxicating as his voice or eyes.

"What are you working on? Is there anything I could help with? You know, I used to run this place, back when it was Terok Nor."

"I think I heard that somewhere," I said, before I could stop myself. I expected him to become angry, but he started laughing.

"I like you," he said, laughing. "Tell me, Tema Adah, would you like to come to dinner in my quarters tonight?" His eyes blazed as they bore into mine.

My mind whirled. After knowing him for less than five minutes, _the_ Gul Dukat was asking me to dinner in his quarters? My parents would kill me, I thought, while a small voice in my mind laughed hysterically.

"Yes, of-of course," I said in a voice that wasn't mine.

"Wonderful! Shall we say, 1900?" I nodded, still dumbstruck. "I look forward to it," he said, kissing my hand again as he swept away down the Promenade as though he owned the place. Well, I reminded myself, he had, at one point.

I sat, staring at the table for a few moments. I forced myself to return to the present. I got up and I soon found myself in Garak's shop.  
"Ah, Tema," came the ever-cheerful tailor's voice from behind one of the displays.

"Hello, Garak," I replied, glad to notice my normal voice had returned.

"So, what are you looking for? Or is this a social visit," he asked, coming out from behind the display, brushing his hands before taking one of mine in both of his.

"I need a new dress," I said, my disbelief apparent in my voice.

"Ah, a new dress. What sort of new dress?" His clear blue eyes gazed at me, interested but aloof. I could never tell if he was teasing me or not.

"I..think I have a date tonight." The words rolled off my tongue easily.

"Well, then, come with me," he said, gesturing. "This is a new style, made of Tholian silk on the bodice and something the Humans call 'crushed velvet' for the skirt itself. I think the color would bring out your eyes," as he was speaking, he was appraising me, but in a kind way.

The dress was beautiful. The bodice was simple, sleeveless and soft to the touch, shimmering to the eyes. The skirt was made of a material that had a soft shimmer to it, and was soft, but in an almost furry way. The color was a rich, deep green. Garak was right, it was almost the same shade as my eyes.

I looked up at Garak.

"I'll take it."

"Wonderful!" His eyes lit up. "So, tell me," he asked as he carefully folded and packaged the dress. "Who is this date with? Anyone I know?"

"I don't know about that," I said, mostly to buy time. For some reason I didn't want him to know that I was going on a date with Gul Dukat. "He's not here very often," I said honestly. "I'm not sure how serious it's going to be. Yet, there's something about him," I trailed off, surprised at the honesty of the words coming out of my mouth.

Garak smiled.

"Well, here you are. And, Tema," he said as he handed me the dress. "Good luck. I hope you're very happy."

"Thanks, Garak. I'll let you know," I gave him a smile and swept out of the shop.

I went back to my quarters and lit my meditation candle. I settled back on my ankles and cleared my mind. My breathing automatically regulated, and soon I felt I was outside myself.

It seemed only a few minutes when the computer chimed that an hour had passed, my usual self-imposed limit for meditation. I had been meditating since I was a child. I tried to do it at least once a day. Since imposing the time restriction, I had found my creative moods lasted longer and were clearer.

I stretched and carefully rose to my feet. I had also discovered that if I wasn't careful, I ran the risk of falling over, and even alone, that was embarrassing. I grabbed the dress and laid it out on my bed. I gazed at it for a moment and went in to take a shower. When I came out and dried my hair, I took about ten minutes to carefully comb it out. When it was done, I considered what to do with it. I often felt like I wanted to do something with it, but I never knew quite what.

I always enjoyed having long hair, but didn't do much with it. I considered myself in the mirror from different angles, and looked at the dress, hoping for inspiration. The silk had braided bands of color in it, so I decided to put braids in my hair.

I took the top third of my hair and parted it into about eight parts, and divided each of those in turn into thirds. When I was done with the eight separate braids, I brought them all together at the nape of my neck, taking a length of green ribbon and trying it around the braids.

I slipped into the dress and stood before the mirror. I grinned at myself. The color of the dress really did bring out my eyes. I put a little gloss on my lips, but that was all I bothered with for cosmetics.

I glanced at the time on my console. It was about 1830, and I had located Dukat's quarters, they were about 10 minutes away by foot, and I wanted to have the time to consider how to act and react to Dukat.

I stood before the doors to Dukat's quarters. I took a deep breath and tried to slow the raucous beating of my heart. Without thinking about it, I hit the button and heard the chime on the other side. A few moments passed and I fidgeted, wondering if I had been played as a fool.

Finally, as I was half-turned to leave, the doors slid open. I turned and faced the deeply glowing eyes of Gul Dukat. After a purely involuntary intake of breath, I smiled and allowed myself to be gallantly ushered inside.

The quarters were larger than my own, but about as sparsely decorated and furnished. Off to the left hand side of the large main room was a long table set for two, with a vast selection of food.

Dukat took my hand and kissed it, like he had done earlier in the day. He looked deep in my eyes, then held me at arms length and examined my dress.

"Well, this is a vision of beauty. Tholian silk, yes?" His fingers traced the neckline of the bodice. I felt a sinking in my stomach and at the same time, a giddy lightness in my chest. His eyes met mine again and seemed to hold them captive as he spoke again.

"So soft to the touch," he said in little more than a whisper, yet his powerful voice seemed to fill the room. As he spoke, his fingers traced the curve of my jaw line and tilted my chin up. For one terrifyingly thrilling moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. He smiled and turned away from me.

I tried to cover the momentary vertigo from the whirling haze of feelings reigning inside of me. A small part of me wanted to turn and run back to my quarters, but the majority vote was to stay. I wanted to feel this, to feel him, even if only for a moment.

"Here," he said, turning back to me with an ornate glass in each hand and offering one to me. "To an interesting evening," he toasted, those intense eyes boring into mine again. I smiled, and took a sip.

"Spring wine?" I asked, surprised.

He flashed a momentary bright smile.

"Yes, one of the things I miss from Bajor." He rolled the glass between his hands, gazing at its contents, seemingly in deep thought. He raised his eyes back to me. I watched him, intrigued. I wasn't sure if the apparent regret evident on his face was true or an act, but at the moment, it didn't matter.

I took another drink. The wine was wonderfully sweet, and seemed to warm me from the inside.

"So, I told you what I was doing on the station, but you haven't told me why you are here," I said, settling on one end of the short couch Dukat indicated.

He chuckled as he sat down, taking another drink of the wine. He sat the glass on the table and faced me.

"Ah, now, that's a long and complicated story, one that is far too boring to get into at the moment," he said offhandedly. "Is it not enough," he said, dropping his voice to that whisper that filled the room, "that I am here?"

Suddenly he was right next to me. He put a hand on the back of my neck, and drew me closer to him. I had that sinking/soaring feeling again and could not catch my breath. The skin on my neck that was in contact with his hand felt like it was on fire.

"Yes," I whispered, marveling that I could think, let alone speak with his eyes gazing into mine from about an inch away. A slight smile tugged at his lips.

"Good," he murmured. With one swift movement, he crossed the short distance between us and kissed me.

I was stunned. For half a second, I was frozen in place. Then, my brain caught up with what my body was feeling. I returned the kiss, and Dukat responded with intensity. I lost all sense of time passing, the only things I was aware of were Dukat and the vivid feelings of elation and deep desire coursing through my body.

I was pressed against him, reveling in the sensation of a strong body against mine. I had been kissed before, but nothing that made me feel like this.

Dukat pulled away, but his eyes never left mine.

"What do you say," he said, "we forget about dinner?" He ran a hand down my back as we stood.

I followed him into the bedroom. He sat me down on the edge, took my face into his hands and kissed me deeply. I closed my eyes and sank into him, into the kiss. I allowed him to push me down onto the bed.

Dukat pushed off the bed and began to undress.

I sat for a moment, stunned at the turn of events. Now I knew my family would kill me, if they ever found out about this. Yet, when Dukat turned his gaze to me, crossed the room and brought the straps of my dress down and kissed down my neck and shoulders, all thoughts of my family and the obligations that went with disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Hours later, I woke from a deep, dreamless sleep and rolled over on my side. Involuntarily, I jumped back, grabbing the blankets around my naked body.

Memories of the night before came back to me. The pure physical passion, the way the lightest touch from Dukat made me feel like I was burning up from the inside out. How, when he looked in my eyes or spoke my name, I felt like I was the only woman in the galaxy and he was the only man.

I relaxed my death grip on the blankets and watched Dukat sleep, wondering in passing how many other women had been in this position. I mentally shrugged it off, pretending for the moment that his past didn't matter, that the fact that he had been, and possibly still remained, the personification of evil for other Bajorans, including my own family, didn't matter to me.

He stirred and opened his eyes. When they found me lying next to him, he smiled.

"Good morning," he said, stroking my face with his fingers. I leaned over and kissed him. He returned the kiss, putting his hands on the back of my head and pushing me against him. He chuckled and pulled away.

"Ah, time, what an inconvenience," he whispered, kissing my cheek as he got to his feet and began getting dressed.

"You never did tell me what you're doing on the station," I said, sitting up and stretching.

Dukat smiled. "Well, now, we didn't do much talking last night, did we?" When I didn't reply, save for an appreciative chuckle, he sat on the bed next to me.

"Well, I can't say much about it right now. All I can say is that, unfortunately, my work requires me to leave tomorrow morning. I will be returning periodically, and while I am here and not attending to my usual duties, I will be at your service. Now, I am sorry, but I do have to go," he said, and with another brief but deep kiss, he swept from the room. I heard the doors slide closed in the other room and there was silence.

I got dressed and slunk out of Dukat's quarters, half hoping that I wouldn't be seen, half hoping I would be. When I got back to my own quarters, I found a message from my sister waiting. I ignored it, wanting to have my wits more about me. Kenara always seemed to see right through me.

I went in to take a shower, instead. Just before stepping inside the shower, I hesitated. For a moment, I thought that by showering, I would be erasing memories of my night with Dukat. I shook my head, more at myself than anything.

As I cleaned my hair, I thought about what to tell Kenara. I was certain that Kira had contacted her after the run-in with Dukat at the replimat. Since Kira had been in the Shakaar with my dear sister, I was also certain that Kenara shared Kira's vehement dislike of Dukat. Handling the situation would be difficult.

I got out of the shower and went to my bedroom and flopped down on the bed. I closed my eyes and watched the mental replay of the night before. I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

I woke up to an insistent chime coming from my door. Grumbling, I got up and shrugged on a dress.

"Come in," I said, unable to keep the grumpiness out of my voice.

The doors slid open to reveal the scowling face of Kira. She seemed to burst into my room and turned to face me, hands folded across her chest.

"So, are you going to tell me why you weren't here last night when I came by?" There couldn't have been any more accusation in her voice if she had tried.

I closed my eyes. If I had been dreading this conversation with my sister, I would have willingly been buried in mud for a few days rather than talk about this with Kira.

I sighed and sat down across from her. She remained standing, the fire in her eyes threatening to make me explode into flames.  
"I-" I tried to not look at her while not appearing to feel guilty.

"You were with him, weren't you?" She asked, spitting out every syllable as though it tasted terrible.

"And so what if I was?" I asked, suddenly indignant. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the young child I used to be. I can make my own choices."

Kira tried to stare me down, but after a long, uncomfortable silence, she sighed.

"Well, we'll see what you have to say when I talk to Kenara," she said.

Anger bubbled inside of me. Yes, Kenara had made Kira swear to keep an eye on me while at the station, but did that really give either of them any right to interfere with my life?

"You talk to Kenara, then. Nothing either of you can say will change anything." I bristled, preparing for the fight coming.

"You can't be serious," Kira said, with an incredulous look. "Do you honestly think that he cares at all about you?"

"How can I possibly know that? I only spent one night with the man. I suppose you are an expert on him," I said, trying to cover the hole growing in my chest at her, quite possibly correct, words.

"Well, you shouldn't have spent any time with him. If you had any idea what kind of man he is-"

"You mean what kind of man he was, don't you? You and all your little resistance friends are so blinded by the way you lived back then that you can't see that the galaxy is changing," I said, with more vehemence than I had intended, but the words were something I had been wanting to say for a long time.

Kira stood there, speechless. It was the first time I had ever seen her without words. I felt a surge of pride. Apparently, I had either said something that was shockingly right, or unbelievably wrong. Either way, I hoped it would give her something to think about.  
She glared at me one last time, turned on her heel and left.

I laid down on the couch and put my hands over my face. I felt drained, as I always did after confrontations.

I got up and grabbed my PADD and tried to work on my story, but couldn't concentrate on it.

More than anything, I wanted to run to Dukat, to ask him to deny these accusations, to take me in his arms and make me feel special again. Yet, I knew that everything that Kira had said to me was true, if jaded by prejudice and time.

I also realized that these things I knew intellectually would all be for naught when I would look into his eyes or hear his voice. Perhaps that was what made him more dangerous than anything else in the galaxy. Pure charisma, the type that both frightens and draws in women and brings out awe and jealousy in men.

I knew all these things, but couldn't think of anything to do to prevent the inevitable when we met again, face-to-face. I sat immobile for a moment, then got up. I tossed the PADD on the couch and walked out of my quarters.

I didn't pay attention to where I was going. I just wanted to be doing something, anything other than sitting alone in my quarters mulling over how suddenly complicated my life had become.

I got some tea, this time a different, Earth variety called chamomile. It was interesting. Not exactly sweet, as I usually like my tea, but still very good. I had been told by a few of the Federation people that chamomile was supposed to help calm nerves and help bring sleep. As I sat in the replimat sipping the tea, I didn't feel any calmer, but did notice that I was more content to sit and watch the passing throng. I began to feel relaxed by the time I replicated my second cup. I closed my eyes and inhaled the rising steam deeply, enjoying the humidity and the effects as they became more apparent.

"Ah, Tema. I told you we would meet again, did I not," came a voice I did not recognize at first. My eyes flew open to the very familiar and, as always, gently smiling face of Garak.

I smiled and gestured to the chair across from me with the cup in my hand.

"So you did. How are you? Keeping busy, I hope," I asked, hoping to escape farther from my own problems.

"Oh, the simple life of a simple tailor. I was wondering how your dress went over last night." His light, clear blue eyes held mine fast, but with a gentleness that was the complete antithesis of Dukat.

"Oh, it went over very well," I said, smiling.

"I am pleased. Are you going to tell me who your date was with, or shall I have to live out the rest of my days wondering?" Garak sat back in his chair and gazed at me through a smile. I wanted to tell Garak everything, but I held myself back. As far as I was concerned, the smaller the group of people who knew about my being with Dukat, the better. For many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that if the relationship between us dissolved into a one-night-stand, the smaller the group of people who knew, the smaller the group I would have to explain things to.

All of my hopes of keeping Garak in the dark were shot down, however, when his eyes focused behind me. I felt that elated swooping in my stomach. After the evening and morning I had been through, I had become almost disturbingly used to conflicted feelings.

Garak's smile never so much as flickered as he was picked up bodily and tossed a little ways away from the table. He picked himself up, still smiling, and faced Dukat almost before I was out of the chair.

They faced off as a the small crowd at the replimat looked on. I hung back as I had no idea what to do. Within seconds, the shape-shifter head of security appeared.

"All right, break it up," he said gruffly.

"You keep your hands off of her, Garak," Dukat was glaring holes through Garak, using the same look as Kira had on me earlier.  
Garak, for his part, was acting as though they were sitting across a dinner table discussing the weather. Other than the fact he had his hands at the ready, just in case Dukat decided to hit him.

"And why do you care so much?" Garak asked slyly, as he glanced pointedly at me. I wanted to run and hide, do anything to stop Garak from baiting Dukat. Still, I wanted to know what Dukat's response would be.

Dukat lunged, quick as lightening, but the shape-shifter was faster. He held Dukat fast, said something to him I was unable to hear, but that made Dukat halt, slowly turn and glare at the shape-shifter.

"Garak," said the sandpaper-voiced being without taking his eyes off of Dukat. "I highly suggest you head back to your shop. I'll check on you later."

Still smiling, Garak walked through the tables as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. I watched him leave, wondering how he had such control.

Turning my attention back to Dukat, I found him having a slightly calmer discussion with the shape-shifter. I walked over, trying to ignore the buzz of talk that had erupted around us.

"-I don't care what happened, I just don't want it happening on my Promenade!" The shape-shifter was saying in a low growl. It was amazing to me how he could put so much emotion into a voice like that, and yet have none on his mask-like face.

"Why don't you ask Garak-" Dukat started retorting, eyes flashing dangerously, then he saw me and brought himself back in control.

"Chief of Station Security Odo, this is Tema Adah. Adah, meet Odo. He was just wondering what happened, asking questions and the like. Anything you'd like to add?" He said the introductions in a much calmer, if forced, voice and asked me the very pointed question all without taking his eyes off of me.

"Wha- no, I mean, I don't really know what happened." As I spoke, I knew that Odo was watching me carefully.

"All right, if you do remember anything, let me know," he said, turning his attention to the group of people standing near us. He nodded curtly to Dukat and walked over to them.

Dukat turned to me, fury in his eyes. I shrank before him, suddenly feeling very small.

"Come with me." It was a command, not a request.

I followed him to his quarters. As we walked, I silently wondered why he would be so upset about my talking with Garak. He seemed utterly harmless. Then again, until this very interesting turn, I had found Dukat very attractive and intriguing, not at all frightening.

When we entered his quarters and he turned to face me, the fire in his eyes had died to burning embers.

"Sit down," he said, this time as a request. I sat on the couch, and he sat next to me. He took my hands in his and looked me steadily in the eyes. "I want to know if you were there on purpose to see him."

"No, of course not. I was just people-watching and he came over and started talking." I spoke quickly, hoping to diffuse the situation.

Dukat sat back and the remaining spark of anger in his eyes disappeared and was replaced by the passionate, forceful energy I remembered from the night before.

"Well, I imagine that will keep Odo busy for some time," he said, chuckling appreciatively.

"Why-" I started to ask, but Dukat interrupted me.

"Did I react like that? Ah," he said, gesturing like he was brushing the question out of the air. "It's a long story."

I continued to look at him, silently asking the question over and over. Finally, he sighed.

"Oh, all right. But," he held up a finger, "Only the short version. And you can't tell anyone." I nodded, eager for the story.

"Short version, Garak killed my father. Garak was in the Obsidian Order at the time. Not long ago, he was exiled from Cardassia and moved to this station. I imagine he would do anything if he thought it would get him back in favor. That alone makes him a singularly dangerous person. I don't want to see him around you simply because I don't want you to get influenced or hurt by him." As he spoke the last few words, he dropped his voice to that wholly enticing whisper and stroked my cheek with the back of his hand.

"I won't," I whispered before kissing him. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me with passion. I lost track of time and space, the only things that existed to me in that moment were Dukat, myself and the kiss that linked us.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I awoke the next morning, stretched and smiled inwardly. The night before had been better than the one before, though I had not been sure such a thing were possible. Suddenly, I was aware that the bed was empty but for me.

I looked around, trying to orient myself. I remembered what he had said about having to leave in the morning as we laid in bed before sleeping.

"I have to leave in the morning," he had said, brushing the stray hairs away from my face. "I'll be back soon, though."

Of course, who knows what "soon" meant, though.

I grabbed my things and went back to my own quarters, picked up the stray PADDs and put things away. I flopped down on my bed and stared at the gray ceiling. After tiring of that view, I got up and sat in the chair facing the stars outside.

I lost myself in the scattered pinpoints of light flickering endlessly. My thoughts kept gravitating back to Dukat and when he was coming back to the station.

I downloaded a new novel by an old friend. He had sent it to me a few days before, but with all the excitement I had not checked my messages. I settled down on the couch and began reading.

Soon I was swept up in his words. I had always grudgingly admired him and his so apparent gift. I had light years to go before I could even touch his level of work as it was.

A few hours had passed, but there was still much of the day left. I started brainstorming new ideas for stories.

Suddenly, the door chimed, breaking my concentration. I leaned back, stretching my back and told the door to let them in. A whirlwind of color and sound, obviously angry, burst in. My heart sank as I recognized the small-built woman with raven-black hair in the center of the whirlwind. It was Kenara.

Her eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head and probably hit me on the head in the process.

"You!" Her normally soft voice echoed.

"What?!" I raised my voice just as loud as hers. If she wanted to yell at me, she was going to get the same right back. I hadn't done anything wrong, and I wasn't about to pretend that I had.

"Don't you start being petulant, sister" she spat out the last word like it tasted bad. "I got a message from Nerys yesterday. She told me everything. What in the name of the Prophets were you thinking? Are you insane or do you just not care about our history and what he did to us?!" She stood there, hands on her hips, waiting for a response.

"Of course I care about that. How could I not, having you as a sister. You haven't left the Resistance, it's just changed its colors! All you care about is revenge, you don't see that things are different now."

"Your kind of "growing up" means bedding the worst of our enemies? If that is the case, I don't want to be part of your new Bajor!"  
My fists clenched as anger welled up inside of me.

"I did not come here planning on bedding anyone! In case you haven't noticed, I actually have been working!"

"Just taking time out for sleeping with the enemy, is that it? Adah, please, can't you see who it is that you share your bed with? Promise me it was just a one time thing, a singular lapse in judgment." Her eyes pleaded with me.

I stared at her, silently. When I saw she understood the use of silence, I spoke again.

"I'll tell you what I see when we shared his bed the twice we have done so. He's powerful, he's attractive and for the first time, someone was chasing me. I haven't had anyone even close to a lover since Edra left me. I am terribly sorry that you don't approve of how I live my life. As I recall, you didn't speak to me for years because I refused to join the Resistance." I winced, knowing immediately what her response was going to be.

"Yes, and now I see why! By the Prophets, Adah," her voice softened as she sat heavily on the couch. She held her head in her hands, running them though the black sheets framing her face.

I sat across from her, waiting. Now that she had stopped yelling, and the purposeful barbs had been used to full effect, she was going to try a heart-to-heart sisterly chat.

"Kenara, please believe me, I didn't do any of this to hurt you. I didn't plan this." She raised her face to look at me, her greenish-blue eyes disbelieving. I sighed and broke the eye contact.

How do you explain to someone how attractive their arch-nemesis can be? No matter how many words, no matter how perfectly constructed the phrasing, they would never see it. For all intents and purposes, they would be blind to it. If they let themselves see that, they can't well say their nemesis is across the board awful.

"Adah, look, I know you are old enough to live your own life. I just feel an obligation to make sure it's the right one for you," she said with complete sincerity. I had to work very hard to not roll my eyes at her comment of "the right one". What in the world was her problem?

"I think you should come back to Bajor. The station is obviously not working out for you. Please come home with me, sister. You could find good work, stop struggling with these stories."

I stood up and opened the door. Apparently, my look transcended any words, as Kenara left in somewhat of a huff. As the door hissed closed, I resisted the urge to throw something, preferably breakable.

A few months passed, stars whirling outside, doing a carefully orchestrated dance, occasionally punctuated by the awe-inspiring appearance of the Eye of the Prophets.

I finished my story and had gotten it published, in a small run by a relatively unknown publisher, but so far it had received good reviews.

Occasionally, I would run into Garak, but keeping my promise to Dukat, I avoided him. From Dukat himself, I had received a few voice-only messages, typically saying he was thinking of me and he would be back on the station as soon as he could. Each time I heard his voice, it stirred me, something about it was at the same time fearsome and seductive. Often I had wanted to approach someone about doing a small study about why it was that way. I had always been fascinated as to what made someone attractive to one person, yet completely uncouth to another. Perhaps, I had finally decided, it was a universal mystery.

I awoke one morning at around 9:30 and after cleaning and dressing, headed down to the Promenade to meet with a new friend, a Starfleet Human named Janice Evans. She had read my story after it was published and soon discovered I resided on the station. She seeked me out and we became fast friends. I had been meeting her before she went on duty at 10:00 for the last week or so. She was very kind and in an omnipresent good mood.

I soon saw her at the replimat, chatting with a few other Humans. I approached and she grinned at me and waved me over.

"Adah, meet my friends. This," she indicated the dark haired male on her right, "is Alex Menderson. Alex, this is Tema Adah. This is Mariah Senti." Janice gestured to the brightly blond female with dark blue eyes. Mariah reached out and shook my hand. Her smile was shy but sincere.

"Hi, Adah. Nice to meet you," she said as I sat down. She had a slight accent, but it was pleasant to the ears.

"How long have you known Janice?" The nearly-swallowed baritone came from Alex Menderson. He rested both elbows on the table, hands cupped around his glass, which itself contained a bright red liquid. He must have seen me regarding the glass suspiciously, as he raised it to his lips and took a long drink and smiled.

"Cranberry juice. Wakes you up."

Mariah stood and stretched.

"Sorry, Janice, but Alex and I have got to get some sleep," she said, just as much to Alex as to Janice. Alex rolled his eyes at her. "Nice meeting you, Adah," she said as they waved before walking down the Promenade.

"So, Adah," Janice turned her dark eyes to me. "Have you done much reading by Human authors?"

"Can't say I have, but I haven't really done much reading from different cultures."

"Too bad. If you ever do want to try expanding your horizons some time, let me know," she said, winking at me.

I shook my head as I went to get a raktajino. Humans are an interesting people. Their writing would probably be just as interesting, I mused as the drink materialized. I turned, cup in my hand and nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Careful now, Tema Adah, or you might spill."

I started to work my way around the ever-smiling Garak, but he stood right in the middle of the aisle. I sighed inwardly.

"Hello, Garak."

"There, now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" His customary smile widened into a grin that made his clear blue eyes sparkle. In spite of everything, I felt myself smile.

"Are you here with your mystery date?" He asked, peering around at all the tables.

"No, sorry. Like you said, you might have to live the rest of your life wondering," I smiled at him, for the moment brushing aside the admonition that Dukat had given me about how inherently dangerous Garak was. He seems nice enough, I thought, gazing into his blue eyes. I couldn't get a sense of what lay beyond his exterior, but that was mostly true of Dukat as well.

"Are you sure you don't want to just tell me?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Garak," I rolled my eyes and laughed a bit.

"Can't hardly blame me for trying, Tema Adah. It is always a good idea to know who your competition is, after all." With that, and a very evident glint in his eyes, he kissed my empty hand, turned and walked away.

I made my way back to Janice and sat down.

"So, Adah," she began, looking at me oddly. "What was that about? Are you and-"

"No, Janice, we're not. And, by the Prophets, if you start spreading anything around, I'll be quite upset." This was, of course, an understatement. As Janice spoke, I was struck through with an intense feeling of fear and dread. If Dukat found out about what Garak just did, the tailor's days would be numbered, and likely not very high.

"Hey, I was just wondering," Janice said, putting her hands up, palms out. "So, do tell, why the reaction? Something is definitely going on, and you're not telling anyone, are you? Come on," she leaned forward, short hair falling forward on her face. "You can tell me. I swear, it goes no further than this table." Janice looked sincere, and I certainly did want to talk about it.

"Oh, all right. But I'm holding you to that," she grinned and nodded, so I continued. I told her about almost all of it, though I did leave out the details about the nights that Dukat and I had spent together.

By the time I was done, my raktajino was cold and Janice looked dumbstruck. She finally found her voice, and to her credit, kept it down.

"Dukat? THE Dukat? You're kidding! You're not kidding?"

I took a sip of my now chilled drink and couldn't help a half smile from her reaction. This was definitely more fun than the battle of wits I had with Kenara.

"God, Adah. I've never even seen him in person. Though," she said, looking thoughtful. "I can see the attraction. I've seen him in some of the courses I took back at the Academy." She shook her head and whistled softly. "So, he doesn't want you around Garak, huh? Interesting. Seems he likes you, too. Did he know about you and Dukat? Think that's why he's interested?"

"He knows now, probably. The day after our first night together, Garak sat with me over there to see how his dress went over. Dukat came by to see me and got a little upset. He would have probably beaten Garak to a pulp if Constable Odo hadn't come and broken it up!"

"Some people have all the fun," Janice shook her head.

"Doesn't seem like all that much fun. It's been close to three months since I've seen him. I mean, he said it'd be a while till he'd be back, and he's sent a few messages, but I just wish I could see him. Plus I think that next to you, Garak would be the only other person here who's given me a chance. Everyone else, I think, sees me as just another Bajoran girl, probably going to run back down to the planet after the next big crisis anyway, so why bother with conversation." I gazed into my cup, suddenly embarrassed by my outburst.  
Janice reached over and put a hand on mine. I looked up, surprised.

"Don't worry about it, Adah. Since we're all pretty new here, it just takes a while to settle in is all. Even for us Humans, and we all know everyone likes Humans."

I laughed at that. She leaned back and stretched. She was a night person, even though she worked during the day. She complained about it, but rarely did anything to change the situation.

"I guess I have to get going, those replicators aren't going to fix themselves." Draining the last of her drink, she winked at me and left the replimat. I sat at the table alone for a few moments, wondering what to do with the rest of my day.

Garak slipped into the chair that Janice had just vacated. He looked about furtively, as though concerned with being watched. He locked his eyes on mine and grinned. He leaned forward and spoke quietly.

"Meet me at the Klingon restaurant at 1700." He winked, looked about again, and swept away again. I looked after him, confused and wanting to laugh loudly. The Cardassian was bizarre, but it was a good bizarre.

I spent most of the rest of the day wondering just what Garak was up to. I wasn't sure if I should even keep the "date" with Garak. Even though I had not seen or even had a real conversation with Dukat for nearly three months, I still felt a sense of loyalty to him.

Eventually, I decided to throw caution to the wind and meet with Garak. It wasn't as though Dukat was with me at the moment, anyway.

I decided to wear the green dress, I thought that Garak might appreciate the irony of it. I left my hair down, brushed to a soft gleam. I glanced at myself in the mirror before I left, and grinned at my reflection. Whatever happened, I was sure it would be interesting.  
At the entrance of the restaurant, I hesitated. With a sudden surge of resolve, I walked in, glancing around. I quickly found Garak, and sat across from him. His eyes traveled first over my face, then down the dress.

"That dress is familiar. Tell me, who made it?" He smiled as he spoke, eyes glittering in the half light of the restaurant.

I laughed.

"Someone with a great talent, I can tell you that. Takes quite a bit of talent to make me look good." The bit of self-deprecation worked well, and his laugh echoed.

"Oh, now, I'm sure you know it's not that hard."

Conversation continued into the night, light and full of laughter. I felt quite at ease with him, enjoyed the easy humor and glitter in his light eyes when he laughed at something I said.

Soon, we were the only table left occupied. The armor-clad Klingon cook behind the counter started giving us dirty looks. I related that to Garak, he turned and the cook fairly snarled. Turning back to me, Garak grinned and suggested we leave.

"Of course, it would have been fun to stay, just to bother him," he said, under his voice, smiling slightly.

I wondered, not for the first time, if he ever wasn't smiling. Of course, I reminded myself, that was part of his charm. I looked at him and realized I was having a great time. I hadn't even thought about Dukat the whole evening.

It was like a slap in the face, both realizing that I wasn't thinking about Dukat, and at the same time thinking about him. I tried to shake it off, but was only partly successful, until Garak spoke again.

"Shall I accompany you to your quarters? You never know what is going to happen around here, you know." As he asked, he placed my arm in his and began walking, apparently refusing to take "No" for an answer. The contact rushed the confusion out of my mind. I allowed myself to keep pace with Garak and listened to him telling me about his adventures since coming on the station.

"Ah! Here we are," he said, stopping at my quarters. I looked at him quizzically, wondering momentarily just how he knew where my quarters were. The devilish smile told me all I needed to know.

"Just a tailor, huh?" I said, half-laughing. The grin widened and I suddenly realized how close to me he was. In what seemed like a heartbeat of the galaxy, he leaned in and kissed me. He lingered on my lips as his hands ran through my hair lightly. He pulled away, eyes deep and clear as they looked into mine.

"Plain and simple," he whispered before turning on his heel and walking out of sight. I stood there, gazing after him long after he passed from view.

I walked into my quarters, feeling better than I'd felt in days. I took the dress off and carefully hung it up. As I showered, I found myself humming a few bars from a popular Bajoran song. I slipped into a simple dress, settled into a new chapter from my friend back on Bajor.

A flashing panel caught my attention, and I saw I had a message waiting for me. It was from Janice, asking if I wanted to join her for lunch. I tapped out a reply, yawning, telling her I'd meet her at the replimat at noon.

I laughed through another yawn, imagining what her reaction was going to be, and went to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

I awoke out of a very disorienting dream. I stretched and grumbled as I sat up.

"Lights!" I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and got to my feet. The lights blinked on and momentarily blinded me. "Time!" I grunted, still feeling groggy. I really should remember not to drink blood wine, I told myself sternly.

"1130 hours." The curt tones of the computer replied to my demand. I jumped up, remembering I had agreed to meet with Janice at 1200.

After dressing and putting my hair back in a braid, I went down to the replimat. Janice sat with Alex, and when she saw me, she waved, said something to Alex and he stood and, with a wave of his own, he left.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," I said, sitting down in the seat Alex had vacated moments before.

"Not a problem, Adah. He needed to get to work anyway," she laughed. Her dark eyes flickered as they noticed how I sat low in the chair. "Long night, Adah?" She asked, suspiciously.

I tried to hide the grin, but apparently it didn't work. Through my sluggish mind, the images, sounds and sensations came rushing back. I felt my face flush.

"Good God, Adah, what is it?" She sounded concerned.

"Too much blood wine," I said, simply. Her brow crinkled in confusion.

"But you never go to the Klingon restaurant alone. Hell, you told me you don't even like the Klingons, let alone the cuisine. The smell, right?"

Once again, I found myself greatly impressed at her uncanny, and sometimes downright annoying, ability to recall conversations.

"Yes, the smell. And, you're quite right, I didn't go there alone. Can you keep this between us?" I leaned forward slightly, as much as the pounding in my head would allow me. Janice nodded, leaning forward herself, though farther than I was able to. "I went there to have dinner with Garak. He asked me," I said quickly, trying to diffuse the shock and disbelief in her face and eyes. "Right after you left yesterday, as a matter of fact."

"But, what about Dukat? What happened? Did you have a good time, I mean other than drinking too much blood wine? Details, Adah, details. You can't think you can drop a bombshell like this and get away with three sentences of explanation. Wait a moment, you sent me the message agreeing to meet last night, barely. How late were you out with him?" The questions seemed to pour from the Human's mouth like water through a crack in a dam. I found myself laughing, which made the pain in my head worsen.

"Well, I figure that I can go to dinner with someone if I choose to, and shouldn't have to tell him. Though, he did tell me to keep away from Garak, and I did give my word. That part gets a little confusing. I did have a very good time," I said, smiling at the memories of the night before. "He's quite an.. unusual man, even for a Cardassian. He even walked me home," I said, getting lost, despite myself, in the recollection of the kiss we shared. I felt my face flush again, and tried to hide it behind a grin.

"So, what happened? Did you invite him in?" Her dark eyes twinkled as she asked.

I sighed. Janice was not going to give up.

"All right, since you're not going to let me get away, fine. He did kiss me."

"Well? Did you like it?" She was grinning now. Humans enjoyed gossip a bit too much, I decided.

"It.. wasn't bad," I said. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Fine! I liked it, okay? Does that make you feel better?" My voice sounded bitter and I knew it.

Janice laughed. She reached out and took my hands in hers.

"At least you said it out loud. Now, go back and get some sleep, since I know you're not going to go to the Infirmary." She stood up and gave my arm another pat and left.

I sighed and heaved myself back to my feet. Laying down did sound good. Anything to get the pounding in my head to stop.

I woke up several hours later to the incessant beeping of my communications system.

"Who can that be?" I said to no one. I sat up, gingerly, and found that my head had recovered nicely. Running my fingers through my hair so I looked halfway normal, I sat at the desk.

"Receive," I told the computer. The screen flashed and the slightly blurred, but still instantly recognizable image of Dukat appeared.

"Ah... Adah, I hope I didn't wake you up?" He asked, voice still powerful through the poor speakers. I smiled.

"No, not really. I was just working on some things."

"Well, I hope that you aren't working too hard. I'm going to be back on the station in two days' time, and I would very much like to see you again. How does dinner in my quarters sound? I should be able to throw something together." The smile on his face told me all I needed to know. My own smile quickly became a grin.

"That sound great. I'll see you then."

"Wonderful. Until then, Adah."

The screen went blank with a sense of finality. I sat there, both excited and confused. He was coming back, and wanted to see me.

Likely, in addition to whatever else he was coming to the station for. I allowed myself a moment of pique. The indicator for text messages was blinking on my panel.

I brought up the message, which was from Garak. He said he had had a wonderful the night before, and was wondering if he could have the honor of seeing me again this evening.

"Why not," I said aloud, and tapped out the same basic message, though far more verbose. I went back to reading, and soon received a further message from Garak, asking if it was all right if he came by my quarters at 1900. I sent him a confirmation message and settled back and got lost in my friend's words.

At 1900 exactly, the door chimed. I took another quick look around my quarters and let Garak in.

"Very nice," he said, settling on my couch. "Though, I think you have a better view than I do."

"I don't know about that. One star is pretty much like another." I smiled as I sat across from him. It felt a little strange, having him in my quarters, especially after I had made plans for a few days later with Dukat.

"Here, I brought you something. I thought you would be interested in reading some Cardassian literature," he said, handing me a few isolinear rods. I took them, and peered at the crimson insides, as though they would be able to tell me what was inside. I knew little about the technicalities of data storage, other than it seemed to work.

"What is it?" I asked, giving up in visually interpreting the rod.

"It's The Never-Ending Sacrifice. The story is written as a repetitive epic, one of our more elegant forms. Just give it a read and see what you think. I know not many outside us Cardassians appreciate the story, but I thought I'd try again." He gazed at the small pieces of data storage as though they were art in and of themselves. Apparently shaking himself out of reverie, he looked up at me. "So! What shall we do this evening?"

"I don't know. I am still recovering a bit from last night. I told you I'd never had blood wine before. And, honestly, if I never see a bottle of the stuff again, I'll die a happy woman." I grimaced.

Garak laughed appreciatively at that.

"Don't worry, I know just the thing. May I?" He gestured to the replicator. I nodded and he went over and requested two cups of something called red-leaf tea, one sweetened. He soon brought over a pair of steaming mugs.

"Here, try this. I think it'll help clear your head a bit," he said, handing me one. I took a tentative sip, surprised at the sweetness of the dark fluid. It had a somewhat bitter aftertaste, but it added to the character.

We drank in a comfortable silence. Soon, the slight headache I had been nursing all day was all but gone, and the fog in my thinking had lifted.

"Amazing stuff," I said, putting my now empty mug down. Surprisingly, it was still steaming.

"So, when do I get to read some of your work? I read the story you had published a while back, and I'd like to see more, if you are willing to share," he said, blue eyes fixed on mine.

"Sure, just let me find some that are finished," I said, getting up and rummaging through drawers. "I get so many ideas, it's hard for me to decide which to go with and which to leave behind. I would imagine you get some of the same problems with designing your clothing," I kept talking, raising my voice a bit, as I went into my bedroom, hunting for my poetry PADD. "There it is!" I called out, finally having found the thing.

I brought it out and handed it to Garak. He called up the poetry and read it in silence. My hands began wringing themselves, I was apparently more nervous that I had expected. I forced them to stop and to sit still, to appear nonchalant about the whole thing.  
Soon, Garak laid the PADD down and looked up at me.

"Excellent work, Tema Adah. I think you should offer some of those up for submission also."

"Thanks. I don't think of myself as a terribly good poetry writer." I smiled.

"Not a problem at all. I don't give praise unless it is worthy. Tell me, why did the venerable Gul Dukat attack me? And why were you avoiding me for so long?"

The sudden change of subject put me completely off balance. This was also a conversation I didn't particularly wish to have.

"I... I'm not entirely sure." I tried to bluff my way though, but the look on Garak's face told me he could see through it easily. I sighed and started again.

"Listen, I don't really know why he got so upset. He's never explained it to me. Of course, I haven't seen him since he left the morning after that." I knew I was starting to ramble, but found I couldn't stop talking.

"So you were involved with him?" His voice held no anger, no hurt.

"Yes, but I don't know what's going on with him and me anymore," I said, honestly. He was coming back in a couple of days, but I didn't have any more idea of how long he was going to be on station, or when he was leaving than I had the first time we had been together.

"I understand. What has he said about me? I assume he told you that I killed his father?" He spoke the last question with the ease of someone asking about the shuttle schedule.

"I.. Yes, he did tell me that. He told me that I shouldn't be around you because you're dangerous."

He laughed, which was an odd reaction so far as I was concerned.

"Whatever reasons he gave you as to how exactly I am dangerous can easily be fitted back onto him, I can assure you. I know he's returning to the station in a few days. If you wish, I will leave you alone. I don't want to cause you any trouble." The look in his eyes told me he meant what he was saying.

"I can be friends with anyone I want to be friends with. You were the first person to talk to me here, and I consider you a friend. If he has a problem with that, it's his problem. Don't worry about it, okay?" I only wished I truly felt the strength behind the words I had just spoken.

We spoke of many things, and the conversation lasted until nearly 2200 once again, and I offered to accompany him back to his quarters, but he refused, saying that he would then have to accompany me back to mine, and that we would never get to bed that way. As we said goodbye, he held my face in his hands and gazed into my eyes. I could see the kiss he wanted to give me reflected in the pure light blue as he smiled, then turned and walked out. The doors closed with a hiss and I stood there, feeling sad, which surprised me a bit.

How could it be that not getting kissed made me feel this way? Perhaps, I told myself, it was because of the kiss I had gotten the night before. My subconscious, as the Humans termed it, had gotten its hopes up.

I bustled around, putting the mugs back into the replicator, and cleaning up. After a few minutes, and nothing else to do, I decided to go to bed. At least, I thought to myself, I won't have to worry about a headache tomorrow.

The next day passed without incident. I wrote another chapter to the story I was working on and finished proofreading the work my friend had sent. I kept myself busy for the most part, and thought little of the next day.

Around 1400, I recieved a text message saying that Dukat had arrived and he wanted to see me at 1900 in his quarters, which were at the same location they were the last time he was at the station. I confirmed recieving the message and quickly went stir-crazy. I paced around my quarters for a time and then, deciding I needed a larger space to pace, went out and began walking around the habitat ring. I walked in a very large circle for about an hour, then returned to my quarters.

I forced myself to sit still for a time, meditating. I had not done that for some time, and found it difficult. Finally, it was time to get ready and meet Dukat for dinner.

I stood at the door to his quarters and felt just as nervous as I had the first time. I hit the panel next to the doors, and they hissed open. I stepped inside and at the sight of him, all of my nervousness and misgivings were vaporized. He strode over to me and stood, not a foot before me, eyes on mine. I could almost feel the warmth coming from him, and I found myself taking a step toward him.

He smiled, put a hand on the back of my neck and kissed me. Without a second thought, I returned the kiss, and once again, felt myself falling into him.

"It is good to be back," he whispered, breath tickling my ear. "Did you miss me while I was away?"

How did he expect me to carry on a conversation with his arms wrapped around me, holding me like this? It was like trying to resist the pull of gravity.

"Very much," I said, still leaning into him. A small voice in the far reaches of my mind wondered how come I always became so pliable at the slightest touch from him. The rest of me shrugged the observation off, concentrating on more important things, like the fact that Dukat was kissing me again.

After a while, he disentangled himself from me and sat down.

"It has been too long, Adah. I heard you got a story published."

I sat next to him, still reeling a bit from the greeting he had given me.

"Yes, I did. I have submitted a few more pieces, hoping to keep interest up while I can. I've been thinking of putting some of my poetry up, after-" I stopped myself, and hopefully recovered quickly enough he wouldn't notice the pause. "A friend of mine suggested it." I glanced over at Dukat, but he was looking at the starscape out the window.

I couldn't believe that I had almost told him that Garak had suggested I submit my poetry. I was no good at this, I decided. Something had to give. Dukat turned to me, and locked his dark blue eyes on mine. As I felt myself being pulled towards him into another intimate embrace, I knew what that thing was.

When I got back to my quarters late the next morning, I sent a message to Garak. I told him that I didn't think that it was going to work out for us to get together. I hoped he understood. I didn't get a reply.

I stayed with Dukat for the next three nights, while he was on the station. Each day, I would go back to my quarters and deal with my everyday correspondence and do what little I could on my stories and poetry. On the third day I recieved notice that another story had been chosen for publication. That night, when I told Dukat, he insisted that we go out and celebrate.

It was a very different experiance walking the Promenade arm in arm with Dukat. People gave us a wide berth and I saw some turn to their neighbor and say something behind their hands while watching us. I wasn't sure if I should be embarassed or enjoying the attention. For his part, Dukat seemed oblivious to it. Of course, given his history, he was probably somewhat used to that kind of attention. More so than I was, for certain.

Dinner went well, though I was very careful to keep away from the blood wine. As we were finishing our desserts, he said he would take me back to my quarters.

"I have to get going very early tomorrow and I don't want to disturb you," he explained as we left the restaurant.

I was disappointed, of course. Yet, I was glad I was at least getting a warning before he left. Better than waking up to an empty bed with no word of warning.

"Do you know when you'll be back?" I asked as we strode onto the Promenade. We were walking towards Garak's shop. I forced myself to not look and see if he was there.

"I don't know for sure. It'll likely be another few months," he stopped and turned to face me. I tried not to notice he did so basically right in front of the tailor's shop. "I'm sorry, but I can't really be more exacting than that. Forgive me?" His eyes were glowing in the half-light of the Promenade at night. I thought I heard movement from within the shop and adrenaline surged through me. I forced out a laugh.

"Of course, so long as you come back," I said in what I hoped was a teasing tone. He chuckled and pulled me to him and kissed me. After we stood there a few moments, wrapped up in our embrace, he pulled away, put my arm back in his and we walked on to my quarters. Another deep embrace and kiss, and he was off down the corridor to his own.

I flopped down on my bed and tried to sleep, but ended up only staring at the dull grey ceiling for what felt like days. I must have fallen asleep because I woke up when the communications system started buzzing at me.

I swung myself out of bed and looked at the message from Dukat. He said he was leaving the station, he would be back sometime (but didn't know when), and to remember the promise I had made about Garak. The last line was kind of confusing, as he had said nothing about Garak while he was on station.

It was odd, I thought. When I was around Dukat, it was like being pulled in by a black hole. Something about him had drawn me in and it was like an addiction now. As long as he wasn't around, it was like I was able to do the things I had to do and was able to have a little bit of fun on my own or with other people. But when I got close enough to Dukat to be in his orbit, everything else in my life seemed to drop away. Nothing seemed to matter but being around him. Yes, I decided, definetly odd.

I layed around my quarters for most of the day, in a sort of gloomy mood. I didn't want to be around people, but moreover, I didn't want people around me. I knew if I went out, my friends would expect me to participate in conversation, and I just didn't have it in me right now.

The next few days passed in the same kind of blurry haze. I tried to eat, but the food tasted like paper. Janice sent me several messages, which went unanswered. Finally, after Janice's messages took on a decidedly panicked tone, I decided it was time to go back out. I cleaned my hair and dressed, listening to a favorite melody. By the time I had combed my hair out, I felt more cheered than I had in a few days.

I walked down to the replimat and spotted Garak sitting with a Starfleet officer, appearing to be having a good time. I froze for a moment, not knowing whether to run back to my quarters and my quiet isolation, or to face up to my fears and talk to him. My problem was short-lived as I quickly found Janice, just as I had hoped I would.

I sat down across from her. She looked up and her face split in a grin.

"Adah! Where have you been? Are you okay?" Her dark eyes were filled with compassion.

To my absolute surprise and chagrin, my own filled with tears. I tried to blink them away, but was only partly successful.

"What is it? What happened?" I shook my head, and she put a hand on my arm. I breathed deeply. When I felt like I could speak, I told her about going out with Dukat and his message upon leaving. When I was finished, she shook her head.

"Oh, Adah. I don't know what to tell you," she kept speaking, but I failed to hear what she was saying. The Starfleet person had just gotten up from Garak's table and was leaving. Janice paused, and noticed as well.

"I've got to get back, I'll see you later, Adah." She spoke louder than was totally necessary and made somewhat of a show of leaving. I was both thankful and embarassed at her display as it certainly caught Garak's attention.

A few moments later, he slipped into the now-empty chair. I debated giving him notice, but once I looked at him, I felt my mind relax.  
"Hello." I said, sounding as sheepish as I felt. I didn't know what else to say, or if there really was anything else that could be said at this point.

"I was wondering if you were still here," he spoke softly.

"Listen, Garak, I'm sorry," I said in a rush, "I shouldn't have said anything-"

"Adah," he cut me off, using my personal name for the first time. I looked up at him. "You don't need to apologize for anything. If you wish to not speak to me or be around me, that is your choice. I would, however, like to ask for one chance to take you out for dinner, to try to get to know eachother before you make a choice like that."

I nodded, and we made plans for the next night.

"So the third night, the boy cries wolf again, but no one comes, and he and the flock are gobbled up. Or that's how the story goes."

"That's horrific! No wonder the humans are such bizarre people." I took a drink, not taking my eyes off of Garak's. He smiled and nodded sagely.

"That's exactly what I told him! He said the point was that if you lie all the time, no one will believe you at all."

"I assume that you disagreed with that statement."

"Of course! I told him, straight-faced, that the real point is that you should never tell the same lie twice. The look on his face was priceless."

We laughed, the sound filling my quarters.

"Sounds about right." I stretched and stifled a yawn, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"I've kept you up late once again, haven't I? That's about the fourth time this week, isn't it?"

"I think so," I yawned again. "I think you Cardassians have a different sleep cycle than we do. I'm sorry, but I need to call it a night. I stayed up after you left last night and worked straight through on my story."

His eyes brightened. Over the past few weeks, he'd been helping me expand my horizons, as he put it. Each week, he would give me a different writing style to study and write in. Currently, he was having me work in an archaic Human form called Shakespearean. The style was considered old, even by thier standards, but classic. Apparently, in the Human language, 'classic' was the same as 'difficult', as that was exactly the right word. I had worked for hours the night before and had only four pages of text to show for them.

I told Garak this, and he smiled, as always.

"Did reading the other plays help?"

"Yes, even if that entire idea of 'dramatic irony' still drives me to distraction. I do admit to finding it easier than that Vulcan style we attempted last week."

"Agreed. That was your weakest work as yet."

"Oh, thanks for that vote of confidence," I said snidely through yet another yawn.

"Just don't submit any Vulcan poetry."

A few more minutes of highly pleasent banter passed before Garak stood to excuse himself. I followed him to the door and we embraced closely and he kissed me on the cheek.

The doors hissed closed behind him and I peeled my dress off as I half-felt my way to the bed. I fell asleep nearly the same moment my head hit the pillow.

My dreams faded in and out, disorienting images meshing together and breaking apart like photon explosions. I felt like I was being torn to my atomic level and then the countless pieces of me falling into a bottomless canyon, all searing with pain and crying for release.

I awoke fully-formed, soaked in sweat and exhausted. For a moment, I recalled the strange imagry of my dreams, but they flitted away as though they had wings. I shook the lingering dizziness off and checked the time. I had about half an hour before I was supposed to meet Janice for breakfast.

After a quick shower, I walked down to the Promenade. I passed by Garak's shop, and waved at him. He gave me a wink and I walked on. Things had been pretty calm the past week or so, no major catastrophies, and even my personal life was seemingly level. I could definetly get used to this, I thought as I sat across from Janice.

"Have another long night?" Janice asked, smiling. I grinned and pointedly did not answer.

"So how are things going with Garak, anyway? You seem to be pretty pleased with yourself." She grinned at me, then went back to eating her breakfast.

"I got another work published, so pretty good. I'm just glad that my sister doesn't know about this, it might make her head explode." I let the image play in my mind for a few moments.

"What, you mean the fact that you have not one but two Cardassians vying for your affections? Well, I mean you and Gul Dukat definetly," she paused, thinking. "What would you call the relationship between you and Garak, though?"

"I don't know, now that you mention it," I said. Now that the question had been asked and I had no answer for it, it bothered me.

"Doesn't really matter, I suppose. Well, I best be off now. See you later, Adah." She waved and walked away.

I got my breakfast and sat back down. I'd gotten back into my usual habit of people watching, it kept me busy and was always quite interesting. This morning was no different. Odo chased down some likely petty crooks and caught them, but not before drawing quite a crowd after having to change shape several times, the last time into his apparent favorite, the large hawk.

I wondered for a while about how it would be to fly like that. To be able to be anything one wanted certainly had its advantages. I wondered if when he changed into something small, if his weight changed. I considered asking him about it, but remembered his general personality. Not a good idea.


End file.
